Professional autonomy and liability of the resident doctor: Between the hammer and the anvil

Abstract

Within the regime of professional liability of doctors in training, the limits and the medico-legal aspects of their professional duties are not well-defined. The Italian Court of Cassation established in its sentence no. 26311/2019 that resident doctors do not work at hospitals just to receive their professional training. They are, indeed, licensed physicians and therefore bear full responsibility for the acts performed within the compass of their professional activity. The purpose of this article is to briefly define the possible consequences of this judgment.